Not Metal, Stone
by ImmortalCoelacanth
Summary: The massive created that walked the desert before Aloy was not a Machine. It was reminiscent of several creatures she had previously encountered, both in her youth and during her travels. No, this creature was not built out of metal. It was made out of stone.


**AN: BEHOLD, THE CROSSOVER NO ONE WANTED BUT YOU'RE GETTING ANYWAYS!**

 **I'm very late to the Horizon Zero Dawn fandom but I just got the game and HOT DAMN IS IT GOOD and my mind, being the strange place that it is, decided to combine the last two PS4 games I've played and BOOM, this story was born!**

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For Aloy the day had started out just like any other.

She had eaten breakfast with Rost, rabbit stew mixed with some herbs gathered from around the Embrace, and had continued her training. Mornings were usually spent focusing on archery and spear work, attempting to attack the Grazer dummies her guardian had set up, while afternoons consisted of working on running the Brave trails.

Granted she could not run them yet, she still needed to work on jumping from platform to platform and balancing herself properly, but Rost had her use certain sections to practice.

She still fell far more than she would have liked.

It was only when night began to fall that she became aware of the strange event that had happened earlier in the Embrace.

Rost was the one who told her of the incident as he packed up his supplies, preparing to head out into the darkening lands on his own personal mission. It always confused her as to why he helped the Noras after they had made him an outcast.

"Apparently some Braves found tracks belonging to unknown Machines near the Southern Embrace Gate. I'm going to see if I can find where these Machines have gone." He said, responding to the question his charge had asked him earlier when he had first informed her of his mission.

"New Machines?! Can I come with you?" Aloy asked, eyes full of curiosity as she looked up at him.

"No," He immediately shot down her idea, shaking his head to further emphasize his point.

"But Rost-" The girl tried to plea, but her guardian interrupted her to continue speaking.

"Aloy I want you to _stay here_ , no going out until I come back unless it's an emergency, understood?" The older man ordered, a firm look in his eyes that allowed no room for argument.

"Yes Rost." The young girl muttered, disappointment easily heard in her voice.

He sighed and walked towards her, crouching down so he could look her in the eye. "Aloy listen to me, these Machines could be dangerous, and I don't want you getting hurt while I track them down."

She huffed, understanding his point but still somewhat upset he was not allowing her to go with him. He always seemed to worry about her, especially after that incident with the Nora boy and the rock, her wound _still_ stung. She wished he would give her the chance to really test what she had learned so far.

It was not like she had not been paying attention to his lessons, she listed to everything he had told her and applied it to her skills. Now all she needed was to see where she was actually at, and if she was making progress.

In her young, naive mind clearly the only option was to go out and face whatever dangers might be lurking in the Embrace and see how she fared against them, regardless of the personal risk.

Rost smiled and gently ruffled her hair, ignoring the annoyed shout he got in response. "How about you try to learn more about that strange device of yours in the meantime?"

"It's called a Focus." Aloy sighed, a faint smile forming on her own face in response which helped to comfort her guardian.

He knew that Aloy was not that strong of a listener when her curiosity had been invoked, patience was another skill she still needed to learn, but hopefully this time she would obey his words and not go running off.

It was difficult to ignore the fearful pounding of his heart at the mere thought of Aloy accidentally running into whatever Machines had invaded the Embrace. Based on the tracks, the size combined with the depth of the marks, the metallic beasts would tower over her and undoubtedly kill her.

However unfortunately for Rost a plan had begun to form in the girl's mind...

She glanced out of the open door and noticed that the sun was beginning to set. Night would soon be upon them, bringing with it a cloak of darkness that would favour stealth above all else.

"I'll be back not too long after the moon rises, remain here until then." Her guardian said, shouldering the bag that contained his supplies as he walked towards the open door.

"I will Rost, stay safe!" She called out, waving to him as he left.

Rost nodded in response and made his way outside, being sure to close the wooden door behind him. He took a moment to savor the crisp air, taking a deep breath in and out, and then began his journey to where the tracks had last been spotted.

Aloy waited until she could no longer hear footsteps coming from outside the log structure, and then waited a bit longer. When all was silent she carefully crept out of her home and stood on the porch, checking to see if Rost was still lingering about.

There was no one outside.

Aloy grinned.

It was time.

She rushed back inside, careful not to trip in her excitement, and grabbed her bow and quiver. She checked to make sure there was enough arrows inside the container, and once she was satisfied she placed it on her hip and threw her bow over her shoulder.

Aloy then pulled on her fur boots, not wanting to risk having some of the sharper rocks cut open her feet since such injuries would make Rost ask questions, and made her way back over to the door.

The girl checked the tracks her guardian had left behind and noticed they were going east, which meant he had used the zip line to drop down into the Embrace.

Which left the western path for her...

With that she strode off, doing her best to not disturb the snow too much since she would have to fix it before Rost got back. There would not be too much time for her to explore and see if she could find a sign of the mysterious Machines since she had to worry about walking _uphill_ , but the thrill of adventure called to her.

Besides, her Focus would be able to help her if she got into any trouble like it had when she saved Teb.

Aloy followed the path down the mountain, occasionally jumping down off of ledges so she could reach the bottom faster, and descended into the valley that was west of her home. This area was not one that was too frequently travelled, so there was a chance the strange Machines might have gone this way.

Her goal was to track them and figure out what they were using her Focus and then tell Rost of her success.

There was no doubt in her mind that her guardian would be angry with her, but surely when he saw he talented she was and how much she had learned during her lessons he would challenge her more.

Once she reached the bottom of the path she stopped, turning on her Focus so she could look for any unusual markings that would indicate if the new Machines had been anywhere near here. Though her goal was to figure out exactly what the Machines were she had no plans to travel too far from her home.

Not only would Rost undoubtedly realize she had left, then again it was most likely he would anyways, and there was also the chance of running into some of the more unpleasant Machines that roamed the Embrace.

Nothing seemed out of place so far, which meant Aloy would have to keep moving if she wanted to find anything. She walked further away from the mountain and closer to the small forest near its base.

An aggressive growl suddenly rang through the air, sounding metallic in origin, shattering the silence that had previously surrounded the girl. Aloy gulped, she had a feeling she knew what kind of Machine that noise came from. She faced the trees, bow and arrow in hand, and waited.

There was no point in running, especially if it had caught sight of her. Any Machine would be far faster than she was.

The creature stepped out of the darkness of the forest, eyes burning red as it took in the trembling child in front of it.

It was a Scrapper.

Pure terror slammed into her as she took in the snarling Machine in front of her. Unfortunately Scrappers were pretty tough, and this one seemed _especially_ armored, which meant that her arrows would be worthless here.

There was nowhere to run or hide for the young girl.

She should have listened to Rost!

Aloy did her best to back up from the metallic being, tripping over a rock, falling on her back and losing her weapons in the process, but her attempts were futile as the Scrapper stalked after her. It cornered her, silhouette blocking out the darkening sky as it towered above her collapsed form.

It was easy to hear its deadly laser coming to life. She closed her eyes and lifted her hands above her head, bracing for the impact that would end her life.

This seemed to be the end for the unfortunate child, or it would have been had Fate not decided to intervene.

Suddenly a figure lunged out of the shadows and slammed into the Machine, knocking it into the underbrush and out of sight with a vicious snarl!

Quickly Aloy scrambled backwards, using this lucky distraction as the chance the make her escape and return to her home. She ignored how much snow was being kicked up by her actions and focused entirely on getting away.

The girl was so focused on her escape that she did not notice the other figure creeping up behind her until it was too late.

She bumped into it, nearly cracking her head on the hard surface behind her.

The first thing that registered in her mind was that it felt like she had reached the mountain side, which did not make any sense since she was still in the valley below the towering landform. The next was that the rock felt oddly smooth, as if it had been carved in some way.

Curiosity and confusion overrode her common sense, leading her to make a decision that Rost _certainly_ would not have approved of if he had been there. She turned around to face whatever she had backed up into.

Glowing blue eyes met her own, and Aloy screamed.

She could barely make out its face in the shadows of the trees, but she _could_ see how its face was highlighted by the glowing eyes, and it was terrifying! It almost seemed to have a mask of some sort and looked unlike any Machine she had seen or heard of.

But the creature in front of her was made of _stone_ , not metal...

Once more she tried to shuffle backwards, but the sound of growling rumbling out of the underbrush made her stop. She turned, momentarily forgetting about the stone creature that had been behind her, and looked into the shadowy forest where the Machine had been knocked into.

A creature similar to the one near her walked out. This one seemed to be the same size as the other, each being significantly larger than her cowering form, though there were specific differences. This one having _claws_ and what appeared to be _tusks_ poking out of the side of its face. In general it was just considerably far pointier than the other one.

It was also covered in some kind of intricate, plated stone armor.

The stone beast almost seemed, _smug_ as it strode out of the bushes, head lifted high. This was undoubtedly a sign over victory over the Scrapper, something that was not all that surprising considering the size difference between the two.

These stone creatures were at _least_ twice as tall as she was!

It then sat down in front of her, joining the bulkier one, and focused its two blue eyes on her like the other one had. In Machines blue eyes meant that they were calm, so she hoped it was the same in these new creatures...

Wait, they were _new_ , which meant they had not been in the Embrace before!

These were the "Machines" Rost had gone searching for!

Aloy turned her Focus on and watched as the purple lines scanned over the figures in front of her. A strange purple dot appeared on both of their bodies, directly in the center of their backs hidden under the stone armor.

Her eyes narrowed as she moved the glowing circle over the dots, watching as it slowly turned green. Once the information was scanned an odd symbol appeared on the interface of her Focus.

It was rather intricate and unlike anything she had seen from the Nora. The strange design was made up of a bunch of lines that stretched out from the middle of the symbol, which consisted of three almost completely filled in circles sitting beside each other with a line in between them.

In all honesty Aloy did not have the words to properly describe what she was seeing. All she knew was that the symbol was far too complicated and different to be from the Nora tribe, and just felt _foreign_.

Which meant it had to be from somewhere else!

Curious, she tapped the symbol and watched as two files appeared. Each was apparently heavily corrupted according to her Focus, but there were certain parts that were still accessible. Interestingly enough the files also had their own symbols on them, which appeared to be some sort of stone mask that looked almost the exact same as the faces of the creatures in front of her. She opened the files and watched as the words, mainly replaced by glitched signs and numbers, appeared on the Focus interface.

Aloy read over the words, only growing more and more confused.

 _Celosia the eleventh Colossus and Cenobia the fourteenth Colossus?_

"A Colossus," The child muttered to herself, oblivious to the intense gazes of the creatures in front of her. "What kind of Machine is that?"

Or were they something else?

"Are those your names, Celosia and Cenobia?" Aloy asked the not-Machines in front of her.

Instead of verbally responding like the more childish part of her hoped they would, the pointer one, Celosia, seemed to snort while the one that had what appeared to be a stone mane of some sort, Cenobia, nodded.

It _nodded._

Her jaw dropped.

"You can understand me?" She asked and was surprised when Cenobia nodded once again.

The moonlight swept over the dark clearing, allowing Aloy to better see the creatures in front of her. Without the shadows cloaking most of their bodies they did not seem quite as menacing as they previously had. In fact, it was almost as though the strange armor started glowing in the pale lighting, shimmering with some sort of strange and mystic energy.

The moonlight…

"Rost!" She shouted, remembering her guardian who would no doubt be returning soon. "I have to get back!"

But the journey back up the mountain would take too long! Maybe if she ran she might be able to make it...

As if somehow sensing her thoughts, Cenobia moved forward until it was standing right in front of her and crouched down, making its back easily accessible to her. It let out a soft growl and wiggled, shifting its form back and forth.

Aloy blinked, confusion marring her features.

What was...?

Celosia seemed to huff in, what she assumed to be, either annoyance or impatience. It marched forward and nudged her towards the other Colossus, ignoring the child's startled yelp.

Finally it dawned on her what the stone creature was trying to do. "You want me to climb up?"

The impatient Colossus snorted and nudged her once again.

Aloy looked over at Cenobia, who was still crouched close to the ground. Even though the not-Machine was significantly taller than _Rost_ , never mind her own short stature, there were multiple ridges that she could use to climb onto its back and hold onto once she was up there.

To ride a creature such as this, surely a once in a lifetime experience!

A determined expression took over her face and she boosted herself up, pushing off of Cenobia's leg to reach higher up. From there she quickly scaled the side of the Colossus and soon reached its back.

"Wow." She breathed, taking in her new vantage point.

Now she could easily see over the tops of some of the trees and the river that ran through the middle of the valley thanks to the height of the Colossus.

She was _so tall!_ This was great!

And then Cenobia stood up, making her even taller! A loud laugh escaped the child. This was amazing, and to think the Nora thought these creatures were _harmful_. A rumble echoed from the stone beast below her and she found herself instinctively reaching out to pet its shoulder.

A quick glance at Celosia showed that the other Colossus was watching her pet its companion. It then shook its head and growled loudly, catching Cenobia's attention.

The two creatures looked at each other. It was almost as if the two were silently communicating to each other, and then seconds later they were off!

A startled shout escaped Aloy as Cenobia lunged forward and began sprinting up the mountain trail, Celosia following close behind. The brisk wind whipped her face and she crouched down in an attempt to protect herself from the icy attack, but even the biting cold could not quell her excitement.

The speed at which they were moving, it almost felt like she was flying!

It seemed as though not even a minute had passed before the Colossi crested the top of the path, already so close to her destination. Once the Colossi reached the snow covered mountain top they slowed down but still continued to swiftly move towards her home.

The wooden logs that surrounded the cabin soon came into view, and luckily enough there appeared to be no sign of Rost just yet, which meant she had made it just in the nick of time.

She continued riding the Colossus until they entered the yard in front of her home. Then Cenobia knelt down once again, allowing the child to slide off of its back and land in the soft snow, which Aloy immediately did, laughing the entire time.

Once she was safely on the ground the stone creature stood back up and shifted so it was facing the child. Aloy reached forward and hugged Cenobia's face, careful to not hurt herself on the tough stone or edges that made up its mask. The Colossus seemed to purr in approval, gently nuzzling her in response.

When she backed away its blue eyes shone like miniature suns, making her smile.

The child then turned to face Celosia, feeling a bit more hesitant with expressing her thanks due to how gruff the stone creature had acted earlier. It might have saved her life from the Scrapper but that did not mean it liked her...

Celosia's eyes were an aggravated orange.

She winced.

Cenobia nudged her forward, either not caring that the other Colossus was not happy with the situation or aware of something Aloy was not. In the end it seemed as though the stone creature wanted her to thank its companion.

Aloy cautiously reached a hand out and brushed Celosia's stone mask.

Its eyes turned blue, nowhere near as bright as Cenobia's, but a definite improvement over their previous colour. Once more the child smiled and continued to brush the creature's mask, slowly watching as its eyes grew brighter. It was only when they were the same, bright blue shade as Cenobia's that Aloy reached forward and gave it a quick, but firm, hug.

She backed up and waited to see if the Colossus would have a negative reaction. Luckily enough it seemed as though Celosia did not mind too much as all it did in response was snort and shake its head.

Well, it looked like it was time to get back to her house before Rost showed up and attacked the Colossi. With that Aloy waved to the two stone creatures, turned around, and slowly slogged through the snow as she made her way to the wooden porch.

Suddenly it dawned on her that she had forgotten to thank the Colossi for saving her from the Scrapper. She turned around, mouth and ready to speak, but she paused when she caught sight of the empty space now in front of her.

They were gone.

Even the tracks that had been left behind, from the trip down to the bottom of the mountain _and_ the journey back, had also vanished. There was no sign that the stone creatures had ever been there in the first place.

Except for the new entries listed in the database of her Focus, something she would have to read over later.

Aloy huffed and crossed her arms, more than a little annoyed that the stone creatures had left before she could properly thank them. Then again, maybe they thought her hugs were her way of showing how much she appreciated her help.

"Aloy, what are you doing out here?"

She yelped and spun around at the sudden shout, catching sight of Rost who was marching up the eastern path.

"Hey Rost, I was just waiting for you!" She replied, happily waving to him.

To be fair she was somewhat telling the truth, she _had_ intended to wait for him to get back home after her own short adventure.

The man smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder once he got close enough. "Did you stay up here?"

Internally the child was wincing, but she did her best to keep her smile on her face as she nodded. Rost sighed, the sound filled with relief, and then walked forward into their home. It looked as though he _actually_ believed her!

 _Yes! Now she wouldn't get in trouble-_

"Aloy, where is you bow?" Rost called out from inside the cabin. "And your quiver is missing too!"

Her eyes widened. Her _weapons_ , she had forgotten about them when Cenobia had helped her get home!

She groaned and kicked at the snow, wincing when she heard her guardian's heavy footsteps hit the wooden flooring. She turned, looked up, and cringed at the disappointment in his eyes and the frown on his face.

"What did I tell you about leaving Aloy! It's not safe with those Machines roaming around!"

"But Rost, I'm okay!"

"You could have been hurt! No more going out alone Aloy!"

As the guardian and his charge walked back into their home, arguing back and forth two pairs of blue eyes emerged from the bushes near the back of the structure. Cenobia and Celosia slowly walked out from the foliage, careful to not bump into any of the piles of wood nearby and alert the humans of their presence.

Celosia snorted and set off, walking back towards the path the two Colossi had used to reach the wooden house, more than ready to leave the domain of the Nora. Cenobia paused and looked back at the building where the interesting human child apparently lived. Another, more aggressive, snort broke the stone creature out of its thoughts and it turned around to face the other Colossus.

Celosia growled and rolled its head, gesturing towards the path. Cenobia seemed to sigh, glancing back at the house once more, and then joined its companion.

With that the duo vanished into the night, their mysterious task now complete.

It was time to move on.

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 **AN: I believe I'm going to turn this into a short story with the different encounters Aloy will have with the Colossi, but I'm honestly not too sure. If you want to stay updated with the progress of this story, or just ask me questions about it, you can follow or check the social media accounts I have listed on my profile.**

 **Thank you guys so much for reading this and I hope you enjoyed! Please leave a review telling me what you think!**


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